How Long Do I Have to File a Workers’ Comp Claim?

13 Dec How Long Do I Have to File a Workers’ Comp Claim?

There are statutes of limitations between experiencing or discovering an injury and filing a claim, and they vary state to state. Bloom Law Office helps workers’ comp claimants ensure they file by the two-year deadline. Some injuries have obvious timestamps, like a slip and fall at work. Others are full of gray areas, such as a repetitive stress injury like carpal tunnel caused by working with a hand tool. Experiencing and discovering an injury can be wildly different, but so can linking an injury to a work-related incident.

This is one of the reasons it’s so important to have a workers’ comp attorney on your side. For issues like repetitive stress injuries, how can you know that it was caused by a work task and not a hobby (like weekend tennis?). These murkier situations will be decided in court, and having an experienced lawyer working for you means that you’ll have the best odds of a fair and positive outcome.

New Jersey Specific Workers’ Compensation Laws

New Jersey has one of the more generous timelines with a two-year statute of limitations. However, there is another deadline to consider: notifying your employer. This deadline is much shorter, between 30-45 days depending on the type and severity of the injury. It’s important to notify your employer and file a claim as soon as possible. Otherwise, missing either deadline can mean your claim will be denied.

However, notifying your employer doesn’t have to be as formal as filing a workers’ comp claim. Some people send a formal letter to their employer while others may casually mention the injury. It’s safest for you to opt for the former, and make sure your employer is completely aware of the injury. This is another aspect of workers’ comp claims an attorney can help you with.

Disputes can arise over entitlement to benefits. When this happens, a claim petition or application for information hearing is required. The county where the employer resides, not the worker, is put in charge of the case. Issues pop up around whether or not the injury was work-related, the extent of medical treatment, temporary disability payouts, and more.

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New Jersey Attorney Jeffrey M. Bloom is a family law, personal injury and workers’ compensation lawyer for people in the Bergen County, Hudson County, and North Jersey Areas. We offer free consultations on all workers' comp cases – (855) 208-3650. Read more about the firm.